Former Education minister Aeneas Chigwedere’s son, Mangwiza, has now approached the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) seeking to compel his father and stepmother to undergo a cleansing ceremony to exorcise the whole clan against alleged witchcraft activities that have allegedly caused several deaths in the Wedza-based family.
BY CHARLES LAITON
In his application, Mangwiza cited Chigwedere, stepmother, Emilia Zharare, his aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters, as respondents.
Twenty-two others, among them Rural Development, Promotion and Preservation of National Culture and Heritage minister Abednego Ncube, Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere, National Council of Chiefs, Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, Traditional Medical Practitioners’ Council, Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers’ Association and Zimbabwe National Practitioners’ Association, are also cited as respondents.
Mangwiza, in his founding affidavit, said he was still convinced that his father and stepmother were practising witchcraft and/or sorcery or incorrect cultural procedures that had tormented the whole clan, thereby, causing deaths, misery, ill health and mental anguish.
“These acts of cultural violations have greatly disadvantaged myself and thousands in the clan who have had to flee Wedza, but to no avail,” he said.
“The right to life has been violated and with the courts even being told on paper and viva voce that we are dying; we are being killed and maimed; we have more than 10 mentally-challenged; we are being exploited through culture. I have undergone more than 200 cultural procedures on myself personally, which I have now discovered were uncultural acts and the basis for our ill-health, pain, headaches, suffering, anomalies, having five brothers and sisters mentally-challenged, sisters, who fail to find fecundity to bear children, sisters who fail to marry.”
He added: “It is a well-known fact that goblins feed on human blood. Blood from the bloodline of the one who sought these spiritualities and brought them into the family, though that does not mean foreign blood, is not welcome to be fed on as we have spilled it measured in busloads.”
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Mangwiza urged the court to urgently intervene in the matter, saying “threat of life in our clan is imminent and many have gone six feet under and it will continue until the intervention of the courts in the removal of that which is killing and maiming”.
He also those, who had not been bewitched by his father, were not necessarily lucky, but simply because they practised witchcraft together.
“First and second respondents (Chigwedere and his wife) are also in possession of elephant tusks, one of which has names of existing clan and family members and those deceased are inscribed in pencil. The one with names has disappeared and only the blank one remains now. He is the one who designed the Speaker’s chair in Parliament with tusks sent to him . . . ,” Mangwiza said.
The matter is yet to be set down for hearing.
